Tips To Maintain and Repair Sliding Doors
Several tasks arise during spring. Among these tasks, cleaning is always on the list. However, if you fail to maintain household items and different parts of your home, you’ll eventually have to pay for repairs.
For instance, sliding doors require regular care and maintenance. However, some property owners find it rather unpleasant to keep on doing maintenance practices on the doors.
It’s advisable to keep your doors well maintained to reduce the costs of repair. After all, maintaining them is cheaper than doing repairs now and then. Sliding glass doors have few components. This makes it easy to maintain them.
The main components of a typical sliding door include a frame holding the sliding panel, a glass panel housed by a frame, handle, lock, track, rollers, and weather stripping.
Cleaning the Tracks
As you clean the track and frame, remember to clean the rollers as well. Also, any damaged rollers should be repaired. Clean them with a sturdy wire brush to remove any debris that might be stuck on the rollers. In most cases, this is enough to clean them.
You can also vacuum them. If the rollers are worn and torn, you should replace them to keep the door functioning optimally. Lubricate the track and rollers to make the door slide smoothly.
Fixing the Door Track
Aerosol wax sprays are often used to lubricate the track. However, they warp during summer and freeze in winter. This may cause the tracks to bend or break. Also, warping and freezing can cause the rollers to tear and wear over time. It’s advisable to use silicone-based lubes to lubricate the tracks. Silicone-based lubes are non-stick and don’t warp or freeze.
They’ll also keep the rollers protected from rusting, especially in areas close to the ocean where the air is salty. Thus, keeping them properly maintained will save you from doing frequent repairs and replacements.
Fixing Broken Glass
The glass panel that comes with sliding doors is prone to cracking or breaking. Once cracked or broken, most people buy a replacement panel. Some homeowners replace the entire door. However, it’s possible to repair broken glass. Our experts can repair small glass chips or cracks, thereby saving you the cost of buying a replacement panel.
Replacing glass in a sliding door costs around $100 to $150. Replacing the entire door can cost you anywhere from $300 to $1000.
Weather-stripping
When doing maintenance checks and repairs on your sliding door, it’s important to replace a cracked or torn weather stripping. Failure to fix it can make you incur more costs to heat or cool your home. This is because a damaged weather-stripping will allow weather elements to enter your home.
Problems with the Lock
Another common problem associated with sliding glass doors is a malfunctioning lock. The lock may fail to latch properly, especially due to aging, bending, or any other damages. Rather than giving up on the lock, you can clean and lubricate it to check whether it’ll function properly instead of buying a replacement.
In case the problem is resulting from rust, try to get rid of it with the help of a mixture of baking soda and dish soap. Scrub the latch with the mixture using a toothbrush. Allow the mixture to sit in the latch until it dries.
Next, pour some vinegar on the latch and scrub it thoroughly with a toothbrush. Besides removing rust, this process will also assist in removing any dirt that has caked on the latch. If the problem persists, replace the lock. It’ll cost you around $10 to $60 to buy a new door lock.
Why Choose Scope Glass For Your Sliding Door Repair And Replacement Needs?
While maintaining components of your sliding door will prolong its life, some components will eventually require replacement. If you’re not sure about how to maintain, replace, or repair your sliding door, contact us today for professional assistance.